1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for the protection of the strings of a ball racket, particularly tennis racket, with a bandlike body, which is positionable in a peripheral groove at the outside of the frame, for tubular sleeves, which engage with radial openings in the peripheral groove of the frame, wherein the body comprises an external peripheral groove.
2. Prior Art
For the mounting of strings for stringing a tennis racket is is known to insert eyelets into radial openings arranged at predetermined intervals on the frame, through which the strings are run during stringing and hereafter are put under tensile stress with an appropriate stringing device. The eyelets serve to fix the position and reduce the stress on the strings being laced through the periphery of the frame of the tennis racket.
With these known constructions there exists the disadvantageous fact that the parts of the strings running along the periphery of the frame of the tennis racket lie exposed, and it has been already proposed to provide a groove extending in peripheral direction at the outside of the frame of the tennis racket to guarantee some protection of the string in this area. Within this peripheral groove the strings remain nevertheless exposed so that on the one hand there results a sight disturbing the general view of the racket and on the other hand there exists the danger that by touching the outer edge of the racket with pointed objects there may take place an unintended shifting of parts of the strings in this groove and thereby an unintended change of the tensile stress of the strings as well as some damaging of the strings.
From the DE-OS No. 20 10 450 a tennis racket of a light metal alloy has become known, with which the strings being positioned in a peripheral groove of the frame can be covered by an insertable strip of ductile material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,699 shows a racket with a metal frame with a stepped U-shaped cross-section, into which a T-shaped body of resistive synthetic material is bonded, wherein the body comprises a groove and openings for tensioning the strings and forms a flat surface with the frame. Furthermore from GB-PS No. 212 195 U-shaped metal sleeves for receiving the strings have become known with a metal racket, wherein the sleeves are put into openings of the frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,335 shows and describes a racket with a body being arranged in a peripheral groove on the outside of the frame for tubular sleeves, which engage with openings in the peripheral groove of the frame, through which the strings are run for stringing. The body is formed according to the external contour of the frame and the string rests on the surface of the body after tensioning.